I stumbled on this forum when I was googling something totally unrelated. I was surprised and happy when I found my husband’s name mentioned in one thread and in another I found a photograph of him! He was an HGV driver from 1969 to 2012 and I recognised many of the names mentioned from tales that he told me. It was more a way of life than a job.
In May 2012 he was diagnosed with Mesothelioma! Sometime in the previous 50 years he had breathed in a fibre of asbestos. We were in shock and denial, he was so fit and healthy before suddenly becoming breathless.
My husband could remember going to factories that were being dismantled to pick up old machinery that may have had asbestos lagging for shipping abroad but he couldn’t remember where or when. In the early days he would pick up all kinds of loads but he couldn’t recall any details. People weren’t aware of how dangerous asbestos was therefore he didn’t receive the compensation he deserved and even worse he didn’t live long enough to see his only granddaughter.
He was an HGV driver from 1969 to 2012, he drove for Walkers Transport /J H Walker and Son Ltd in Peterborough then he drove for MAT until it went into administration (2006). After that until he became ill he did agency driving mostly for the Post Office.
It’s a government scandal, neglect on a massive scale resulting in an incurable cancer that gets very little publicity (probably because they can’t pin the cause on the individual). It is registered as an “unnatural” death, it has to go to the coroner for inquest and even though my husband died at home, I had to go and “identify him” at the chapel of rest!!! Who is really responsible for his death and our loss??
Kind Regards
